1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a compact reserve battery. The present invention is particularly applicable to a high power reserve battery in which the cells are connected in a bipolar fashion.
2. Description of the Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 4,842,964 discloses a reserve battery which comprises an elastomeric sealed container within the interelectrode space of the battery. The elastomeric container is in an expanded state and contains electrolyte. When punctured, the elastomeric container shrinks, simultaneously allowing electrolyte to flow out of the container into the interelectrode space, activating the battery.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,865,631 also discloses an elastomeric electrolyte chamber within the interelectrode space of a battery. The electrolyte chamber when punctured, releases electrolyte into the interelectrode space, similar to the structure of U.S. Pat. No. 4,842,964.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,695,520 discloses a reserve battery comprising an electrolyte storage chamber which is separated from the cell compartments by a rupturable disk. The chamber contains an expandable bellows. When the disk is ruptured, electrolyte starts to flow into the cell compartments. Compressed ga simultaneously expands the bellows expelling the remainder of the electrolyte into the cell compartments.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,642,275 discloses a reserve battery which includes a cell housing and a separate reservoir housing for storing electrolyte. A piston responsive to an externally applied pressure is movable in the reservoir housing to expel electrolyte from the reservoir housing into the cell housing. A burst disk separates the reservoir housing from the cell housing.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,437,528 discloses a reserve battery in which electrolyte is located above the electrode compartment. A spring actuated valve seals the electrolyte from the electrode compartment. The valve is held in its sealing mode by a locking pin. Removal of the locking pin causes the valve to shift to a non-sealing mode allowing electrolyte to flow into the electrode compartment.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,288,501 discloses separate electrode and electrolyte chambers. An air supply functions to force electrolyte from the electrolyte chamber into the electrode chamber for activating the battery. The battery can be inactivated by forcing the electrolyte from the electrode chamber back to the electrolyte chamber.
In all of the above prior art, except for U.S. Pats. Nos. 4,842,964 and 3,865,631, the use of separate electrolyte and cell housings substantially increases the size of the battery for a given power output. Many applications require as compact a reserve battery as possible. U.S. Pats. Nos. 4,842,964 and 3,865,631 disclose batteries which are relatively smaller than the other prior art reserve batteries. However, the batteries in U.S. Pats. Nos. 4,842,964 and 3,865,631 are not bipolar. High voltage requirements, for a large power output, require that the cells be connected in a bipolar or series fashion.